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Monday, 11 August 2014

Courgette glut anyone? I have the answer!

I'm all for using seasonal ingredients...and as it's summer time - it can only mean one thing - an abundance of courgettes! We used to grow courgettes in our little vegetable patch; they were easy to start off and a pleasure to just watch them bloom without huge amounts of nurturing.

Now if I remember rightly...this is the time when the plants would be bursting full, fattening by the minute, on the verge of a marrow just at the blink of an eye!

Even though I haven't had the time to grow any this year, I still enjoy eating this delicious recipe I'm about to show you...

I know that not everyone is a big fan of courgettes, but I think it all comes down to what you use it with. If you just chop it up and roast it, simply serving it plain all the time...then yes! Of course it's boring! But courgettes are soooo versatile, all they really need is a little extra helping hand.

That's where I step in.

Heard of courgette cake before? Just like carrot cake really, and it's delicious... but let's not digress, maybe I'll show you my recipe for that another day (if any of ya interested?!)

Courgette soup is something that most people would turn their nose up at... my friends have been known to do that!! ( and yes you know who you are) I don't blame you really, after all it's a big bowl of green liquid...it seems dull and uninteresting. But it's really not!

There is no overwhelming strong flavour here, its mellow and creamy and marries well with a nice big chunk of white crusty bread. Perfect for a starter (if we're being posh), lunch or supper - any day is soup day in our house!

So here's the recipe, slightly adapted from my Auntie Linda who kindly passed it on to me (when I asked!) Yes- it's that good.

Courgette Soup

Ingredients (serves 4 large bowls)

3 large courgettes

a large knob of butter

1 chicken or vegetable stock cube

water to make up to 1 pint

2 tbsp milk

1-2 tbsp crème fraîche

Salt & pepper

Any fresh herbs that you have:

oregano, parsley and chives all work well (nothing too woody like rosemary)

Method

Heat a large saucepan, and melt the knob of butter. Wash and slice the courgettes into roughly 1cm slices (nothing too thick or it will take longer to cook). Add these to the pan along with chopped herbs.

Season well and then in a jug add enough boiling water to the stock cube to make up to 1 pint, whisk this well. Add to the pan with the milk and then simmer on medium heat for 10-15 minutes, until the courgettes are cooked.

Remove from the heat and liquidize with a blender.

Add enough crème fraîche depending on how creamy you prefer it and blitz briefly, you could also swirl some some more on top.